Chapter I

Ding, Dong, and Dell
Went and sat under the bell,
Saying, “Bell, bell, bell,
What have you got to tell?”
And the clapper rose and fell,
And the bell rang well
Over Ding, Dong, and Dell,
As they sat under the bell.

Here is pencil, and here is pen,
Walk up, ladies and gentlemen!
Here are their pictures, as you see,
Ding, and Dong, and Dell make three,
There they are, and here are we.

First there is Ding, a dot of a thing,
And, not to go wrong, her brother Dong,
A little older and ever so much bolder,
And both of them seem ready to sing,
And Dell will belong and take part in the song.

Now Dell--I am not so sure about Dell--
Dell wears a mask, and hides till you ask,
And peeps at you from over a screen;
But if you must know the truth of it,--well!--
I really am not so sure about Dell.

So Ding, Dong, and Dell
Went and sat under the bell,
Saying, “Bell, bell, bell,
What have you got to tell?”
And the clapper rose and fell,
And the bell rang well
Over Ding, Dong, and Dell,
As they sat under the bell.

II

Ding and Dong went out a-walking,
Ding and Dong were gaily talking:
“My eyes are strong,
You know,” says Dong,
“And once on a time I saw through a wall.”
“And so did I,” says little Ding,
“I also can do a wonderful thing.”

Thus they disputed, and by-and-bye
Poor little Ding began to cry.
“You didn’t,” says Dong; “it isn’t true----”
I did, you didn’t, no more did you,
You didn’t, I did, you didn’t, pooh!

So they came squabbling to Dell, who said,
“You both deserve to be put to bed.
When Ding saw through a wall, the wall
Was made of glass, and that is all!
When Dong saw through a wall, it had
A hole in it.” Then both were glad,
Ding and Dong, that they thought to ask
Dell of the screen, who wore the mask;
And Ding and Dong said, “Clever Dell;
Who would have thought that Dell could tell?

III

Ding and Dong, because they find
Dell so very clever.
Say they have made up their mind
To go in masks for ever.
Is there wisdom in a mask?
They are none the wittier yet;
Is there beauty? do not ask!
They are none the prettier yet!

IV

The girls and the boys
They made such a noise
At play, that they frightened away their toys.
Dolly, she fled,
And went to bed,
Because she had caught such a pain in her head!
The German bricks,
The candlesticks,
The elephant,
And the cormorant,
The ass and the horse,
And the rest in their course,
(But there was no shark,)
Of the Noah’s Ark,
The saucers and the cups,
And the little woolly pups,
(You heard them bark)
Belonging to the Ark,
Were frightened, like all the rest of the toys,
And hid themselves from the dreadful noise:
So, if I were you, next time I played,
I would not be so loud in the noise that I made!